E02: Who do you think you are?

Who are you? How do you want to be remembered? As a longstanding victim of workism, I give an account of my errors in trying to find identity in work and encourage you to look deeply at your priorities to discern your identity, legacy, and purpose.

People feel fulfilled when their identity is correctly placed. But it takes time to discern your identity. Identity is usually not usually something people consciously choose, though you can. Usually your identity is a weird combination of things you were told about yourself, things you see in culture, and things you subconsciously absorb throughout your life. 

If someone asked you what yours is today, you are likely to answer with your occupation. This is a symptom of workism. American culture places such a premium on work and title that people never question why they include work as part of their identity. But work is circumstantial and, often, temporary relative to the duration of our lives. If we fold work into our identity, we’re doomed to end up feeling unfulfilled as our work circumstances inevitably let us down and shift over time.

I would like to argue that you can stop being a passive participant in your identity. Your identity can include things you’ve absorbed throughout your life - there is nothing wrong with that - but you need to go deeper and analyze what makes up who you are and why you do what you do. If you understand this, you’ll start to understand your motivations and tap into being a more effective and responsible person overall. 

To read more, please visit my website at www.youruncommonlife.com/blog/categories/podcast-transcripts

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